Seal or tag for meats



Jan. 19 1920'. 1,570,400

. F. G. PURNTON SEAL 0R TAG FOR MEATS Filed July 15, 1925 v Inqnibr:

Patented J an. 19, 1926.

" FORREST e. summon; or'wn rnnnuny. com-im m AssmosiTom ns BUTTON COMPANY, or W TERBURY,

CONNECTICUT, AI CORPORATION or con;

i SEAL oar-As EQBT-IY/I'EATSQIY Application fi ed iul s, 1925. Serial 143,2e7.

To all whom it they concern:

Be it known that I,FORREST G, PURINTONS,

' a citizen of theiUnited ,States, residing at Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seals or Tags for Meats, of which the foll i is aspe ification inuention relates to new and useful improvements in seals or tagsfor meat or fowl, and is especiallyadapted for tagging salt meat, such as hams, "sides of bacon-and :the like.

. {'flhei presentappli'cation is a companion] l5 .onefto that filedby me on May 26th, 1925,, Serial N umberl3 2',934,and to another apseal is once applied, any tampering with the tag will cause the sameto break and render the tag-on seal unfitjfor further use? Still another objectof the inyention is to I I I I I 'i maybe fitted within acap 5"ha'vi'ngthe provide a tag or seal for meats'iwhjereinf a .wire or rod of aluminum of low 'du ctility is, used to form the spindle and to form anenlarged-head; afterwhich :a cap-is laced about Lthel head. The heap is pre' erably .formed of aluminum "of higher ductility,

'- howeve than the spindle; andIis provided I with a n onograinftradeinark; brand or other fanciful insignia. i in J-With these and other objects'in View, the invention consists'win certainriewand novel arrangements. and I combination vof scribed and pointed out in'the clai.H i$ -L j lie 7 Fig. '1iis. a perspective or a'hain'tagged or sealed with .niyiimprovedseal or ,tag,"

+1 Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detailed vsection showing the "manner of apply ng the tagor -fore the a pliers! oi" fromany suitable dies;

- parts as will be, hereinafter nio re-fully de-' t ferring now to the drawingsishowing a preferred embodiment ofmy invention, I t

' or' portio Win i is a fragmentary detail of a I Fig. shows the completed mirfl, andthe spindle? slightly modified in fthitfiia plurality of nicks aI e shown ne'ar its'fend 't'o further weaken the J spindle" where' the curl 3' 00 Fig P shows astill further modification, thelower end of the spindle being ringed to thus weaken thematerial" where, the 1 curl 'will occuri f Fig,5 is a perspective of the tag or seal before thefsani'e is attached, and anlawl for applying the same,,and i Fig. 6 a view showing the games th reof.

plieation ofjth cap to" the head I will be-selenfjthat I' c'onjstruct the-seal of a ductility andthenbendthejupper end; (10w 1 fer; end in Fig; 6) to form thearmje', and

the; loop "I 3, l 'lh e, arm 2 'is 'bentf' sharply at .angle's to the spindle as at 4, an'diI make this'bend- 'preferahlyj with a pair Jo n.

I fny'j'bther square edged tool," so {that the bendwill'be a'sharp oner'f flange 6, which is pressed tightly inwardly. 1

he lprovidedwith a monogram or trademar 101 brand, and as this cap ,is fornied' of aluniin'um, itlwilltake a clear. out

I I impression To apply this tag 0rseal to a IhaIn;

awl Sis provided which ispassed through the upper end ofthe hamas at 9,the spindle .1 extending within theawl and after the awl has been passed within th'gham, it .fwil'l jbe pulled itherethroughleaving-a short shank I of the spindle extending beyond;v 1, the {side' of 'thel harng f I I l having aheadl'o'iisproyided, this'wrench having thenose 11 and lip12 soTtha't a few turns of-the wrench will curl sharply at 4; the ductility (of the inetal is the, end of the spindle'as iat. 13,1. thereby 1 Lti'ghtly pulling the Icap 5 of the tag Tagainst the hamand securely sealing the article. i

Althoughthe metal spindle is bent such that theseal or taggmayg'be normally V 7 'applied without the head or cap being the arm from the loop extending at right broken from the spindle, but, on the other hand, should anyone pull orpry at the cap and try to twist the same or pull it from the tagged article, the cap will break from the spindle at the bend 4 and thus destroy the seal.

The ductility of the metal also is such that should the coil 13 subsequently be bent, or unwarrantably tampered with, this also will snap and thereby shorten the spindle 1. The original length of the spindle 1, of course, will be relatively short, in other words, just long enough to pass through the narrowest dimension of a ham.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have produced a seal which is exceedingly cheap to manufacture and wherein the head may be impressed with a monogram or trademark to denote the goods, and wherein the slightest pulling on the cap 5 will snap the loop and cap from the spindle. On the other hand, the construction of the seal is such that it will not snap when the curl 13 is'originally formed on the" outer end of the spindle, in pulling the tag tightly against the ham, as the strain willbe directly along the shank, whereas any prying of the cap will, cause the strainto be at right anglesto the shank or spindleand, of course, snap OK the head.

I am'awa're that it is old to form a spindle with a loopat its upper end and angles to the shank and the placing of a cap about the loop, such as a hatpin, but in that instance, any snapping'of the spindle or shank at the bend was to be avoided and metal of highductility was used, while in the present instance, a metal of low duc 'tility is used purposely, so that any'prying of the cap will snap the spindle,

It will thusbe seen that in this form of tag I may use a spindle of very low ductility and put a round curl on the end so that any unwarranted straighteningof the curl will snap the same, or will even snap the head from the spindle. Again, inasit much as it is often hard to procure aluminum rods or wire of very limited ductility, I can purchase aluminum wire of normal ductility and ring'or nick the lower end and then curl the same, and the thus weakened spindle will snap at its lower end if the curl is maliciously tampered with.

It will also be seen that the manufacturing of the seal is relatively inexpensive and properly marking the head as desired.

Many slight changes might be made 'without in any way departing from the spirit and scope'of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1. A seal or tag comprising a spindle formed of metal of limited ductility, and. the shank of the spindle being normally straight throughout its length and adaptedv to fit within an awl, the upper end of the spindle being bent at right angles tothe spindle and then formed in a loop, a cap supported by said loop and the bend of the spindle being the weakest point of the tag, and the lower end of the spindle adapted to be curled after the tag is applied.

2. A seal or tag comprising a spindle substantially straight throughout its length and adapted to be inserted in an awl and the spindle then bent at right angles at one end and then formed into a loop also positioned at right angles to the spindle, a metal cap on said loop, the lower end of the spindle being curled after the tag is applied, and the ductility of the metal being such that any prying of the cap will snap the same from the spindle and any subsequent bending of the curl will also snap the curl'from thespindle'. 1 "I I 8. A seal or tag comprising a spindle, normaliystraight throughout the greater portion of its length and adapted to be placed in j an awl to'pierce the article .to be tagged and oneend of said spindle having a short arm bent sharply at right 'angles to the spindle to thereby fatigue the metal at the bend, a loop formed atthe low ductility and normally straight throughout its greater portion and adapted to be placed in an awl to pierce the article to be tagged, and having a loop formed at its one end at right angles to the spindle and the metal fatigued at the point of the bend on the said loop,a metal cap adapted to receive the loop of said spindle, the lower end of the spindle adapted to becurled to pull the loop and cap tightly against the article tagged and the loop arranged to break front the spindle if the cap is pried upwardly, and the ductility of the spindle being such that the curl will break from the spindle if the same is subsequently bent. z

5. A seal or tag comprising a spindle formed ofmetal, the upper 'end of the spindle being bent to form a loop, the shank of the spindle being substantially straight and adapted to fit within an awl to pierce the article to be tagged, a cap engaging said loop, the lower end of the spindle being nicked to thereby weaken the same, and this end being of sufiicient lfl' f V I i 3 strength to stand an initial b ending, but 'shape ofa loop, a cap-supported by said loop 10- incapable of withstanding a "subsequent and" the lower end of the spindle being bending, V I ringed to thereby greatly Weaken the same 6. A seal or tag Comprising a 'spindleite permit the spindle to be initially curled, formed of aluminum,- said spindle being but incapable of Withstandinga'subsequent normally straight throughout the, greater uncurling. y e part of itslength and adapted to fit within In testimony whereof I aifix my signa an aWl to pierce the article ftoifbe tagged, ture. a V v V r and a portion of the spindle formedin the V FORREST G. PURINTON. 

